Agenda item

Clive Tracey, Director of Specialist Services, Health, Safety and Emergency Planning, Strategic lead West Kent (KCHFT), was in attendance virtually for this item. Mr Streatfield declared that he was the District Councillor for Chiddingstone, Fordcombe and Penshurst.

1.    Clive Tracey, Director of Specialist Services, Health, Safety and Emergency Planning, Strategic lead West Kent (KCHFT), provided a 12-month update on the Edenbridge Memorial Health Centre.

2.    There were no significant updates to the report since the date of publishing.

3.    In response to comments and questions it was said:

a.    A question was asked regarding the use of the building facilities for social prescribing. Mr Atkinson shared that the GPs had Health and Social Care Co-ordinators who helped to signpost individuals to local community services, additionally a Social Value Co-ordinator had been employed to work with the community. The Health Centre had been mobilising the community by setting up groups to improve the wellbeing of residents.

b.    Asked the opinion of local GPs on the new Health Centre, and whether the service provided value for money, Mr Tracey said that collaborative work had taken place with GPs to avoid duplication. Additionally, he shared that the Minor Injuries Unit was run by GPs, having been transferred from the wider health service. Furthermore, an additional GP had been recruited, which provided additional support and the opportunity to identify patients earlier for additional support. GPs had been developing processes for the future, working towards less lengthy referrals between services. Dr Rickard (LMC) added that GP surgeries had not raised any concerns but there were questions about estate challenges. The issue of underfunding was still present and no additional core funding was being received by those GP surgeries.

c.     A Member questioned whether virtual ward beds were an adequate replacement for physical beds. Additionally, they questioned whether decreased GP waiting times had been achieved and the revenue cost per patient. Mr Tracey shared that the virtual ward had 14 beds to compensate for those from community hospitals. He offered to seek further information from GPs about waiting times outside of the meeting – this data was not routinely shared with the health service. He confirmed that the Health Centre was owned by the NHS as opposed to GPs.

d.    A Member questioned social prescribing and how forthcoming funding from the NHS for preventative services would be. Mr Tracey shared that the League of Friends were active in this area and working with clinicians to help keep people out of hospital and at home well. The League of Friends was funding an initial project but long-term funding had not been secured.

e.    A Member asked what saving was made when patients didn’t visit the GP for a period of time. Dr Rickard explained that a funding methodology called the Carr-Hill Formula was used to pay GPs, weighted according to population demographics and characteristics. The funding formula assumed 3 to 4 visits to a GP surgery per patient per year, and that usually balanced out across patients.

f.      Members requested a future item on how the Carr-Hill Formula worked and whether there were opportunities for a better, fairer formula to be introduced.

g.    A Member noted the benefits of the integrated health centre model, including savings made from preventing elderly patients from going into acute care. It was recognised that the savings accrued from preventative work were difficult to quantify, but that would be important to demonstrate its value.

h.    The Committee requested that a future update present data around how integrated models support GP practices, how preventative work helps reduce admission into acute care, and how many patients access acute and rehabilitative care.

4.    RESOLVED that the Committee considered and noted the report.